This ‘Apology’ From CoverGirl Is Almost As Bad As The Racist Tweet They’re Supposedly Saying Sorry For

CoverGirl’s first ever male model found himself in the middle of a huge controversy after he tweeted that “All Africa has is Ebola.” Because, well, racism.

When James Charles was first picked up by CoverGirl in October, people were mostly just excited that the brand was finally reaching out to an often-overlooked demographic. But since his comment about Africa, the tides have changed, and a lot of people would prefer to do without him.

https://twitter.com/HoneyLuLu_/status/832284749335056384

While neither James nor CoverGirl immediately apologized, the brand eventually came out with their own version of a statement: a photo of the male model hugging Zendaya, taken from their 10-minute makeup challenge video.

YouTube / Jason Ikeler
YouTube / Jason Ikeler

Ah, yes. How could we forget? He hung out with a Black person once, remember? He even hugged her. Obviously he can’t be racist if he got along with her, right?

People were understandably upset by CoverGirl’s apology — or lack thereof — and took to Twitter to let the company know.

https://twitter.com/poedamcron/status/833041499126427650

https://twitter.com/rileytharvey/status/832416863657271298

Even Zendaya didn’t hold back from saying something through a well-picked meme.

James eventually apologized himself via — you guessed it — Twitter.

Not surprisingly, this isn’t the first time James tweeted some problematic things.

Twitter / @cheyennemiles_
Twitter / @cheyennemiles
Twitter / @cheyennemiles_
Twitter / @cheyennemiles_
Twitter / @cheyennemiles_
Twitter / @cheyennemiles_
Twitter / @heathadiaz
Twitter / @heathadiaz

James has since deleted the tweets, some of which he wrote when he was 14. Thought Catalog Logo Mark

Callie is a writer, editor, and publisher at Thought Catalog. Her debut book, ‘The Words We Left Behind,’ was released in January 2024.

Keep up with Callie on Instagram, Twitter and calliebyrnes.com

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